14 Mind-Blowing Images From Aida Muluneh's Solo Exhibition

Ethiopian photographer Aida Muluneh's 'The World is 9' is now on view at David Krut Projects NYC.

Aida Muluneh, The World is 9 at David Krut Projects NYC. Image courtesy of David Krut Projects.

Living in Addis Ababa for the past nine years has been eye-opening for Aida Muluneh. “A lesson in humility, and a lesson in what it means to return to a land that was foreign to me,” the Ethiopian visual artist and photographer writes.

Muluneh’s new solo show at David Krut Projects in New York City takes its name from an expression her grandmother would tell her as a child: “The world is 9, it is never complete and it’s never perfect.” It’s a lesson that’s stuck throughout her time living in Addis Ababa.

“In this world, we are idealists seeking perfection but living in a reality which does not afford us that balance,” writes Muluneh. “Life is unpredictable and imperfect – we must conquer these challenges with strength and endurance because the world within us and the world knocking on our door, bears the unknown future.”

Through these experiences, Muluneh says she was inspired to create 28 new pieces of work. Each image in The World is 9 is itself an exploration of questions about life, love, and history. Muluneh says her intent with the art is to ask provocative questions “about the life that we live – as people, as nations, as beings.”

Muluneh’s work on body painting is inspired by traditional body art from across the African continent. “Each work is a reflection of conscious and sub-conscious manifestations of time and space,” she writes.

Check out a preview of Aida Muluneh’s 'The World is 9' below. The show is on view at David Krut Projects NYC (526 West 26th Street SUITE 816) through April 16th.

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Zakes Mda, endearingly referred to as Bra Zakes, is a South African literary giant. He is the exemplar "jack of all trades, master of all"—a professional 'dabbler' as he refers to it. An accomplished novelist, playwright, poet and painter, he has written close to two dozen novels thus far, including the beloved Little Suns, Ways of Dying and The Heart of Redness. He is extremely hilarious as an individual and never afraid to speak his glorious mind. Case in point:

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